Sunday
July 25
HOW LONG? (Gen.
1:1, 2; 2 Pet.
3:3-5; Gen. 5 and
11).
Do we know how long it has been since Creation week? Do
these passages in Genesis 1:1, 2; chapters 5 and 11; 2 Peter 3:3-5
suggest that the world is about six thousand years old?
It must be recognized that there is no single verse in the Bible that
tells us precisely in what year or how long ago Creation week took
place. Nevertheless, there is a considerable amount of chronological
data in the Bible that, when looked at collectively, points to a recent
Creation. For this reason, the idea that the first week of Creation oc-
curred only a few thousand years ago has been the general understand-
ing of both Jewish and Christian believers throughout history. This
understanding was almost universally accepted among believers until
the nineteenth century, when findings of modern geology began to
challenge that conclusion. Ellen White said that "Many who profess to
believe the Bible are at a loss to account for wonderful things which are
found in the earth, with the view that creation week was only seven
literal days, and that the world is now only about six thousand years
old."—Signs of the Times®,
(March 20, 1879), vol. 5, number 12.
Over the centuries, many students of the Bible have been fascinated
by the chronological data in the Bible and have attempted to use that
information to reconstruct a chronology of the world. However, the
chronological material in the Bible is not always easy to understand,
and scholars have not been able to agree on a single biblical chronol-
ogy. Thus, it is not surprising that by 1738, Des Vignolles of the Royal
Society of Berlin, could claim that he knew of at least 200 biblical
chronologies, with the dates for Creation ranging from 3500 to 7000 B.C.
The most familiar of these chronologies was that of the Archbishop
James Ussher (1581-1656), of Armagh, Northern Ireland, whose time
scheme was widespread because it was selected for use in the margins
of the King James version of the Bible in A.D. 1679. According to
Ussher's time scheme, Creation took place in the year 4004 B.C.
Ussher's date was later refined by Dr. John Lightfoot, of Oxford, who
argued (unfortunately without solid biblical support) that Adam was
created at 9:00 a.m. on October 23, 4004 B.C.!
There are other evidences besides Ussher for a short chronology.
The 200-plus different biblical chronologies noted by Des Vignolles tell
us two things. First, it tells us that biblical data can be put together or
interpreted in many different ways. This teaches us not to be too
dogmatic. Second, all of these chronologies point to a recent Creation.
Thus, in spite of some uncertainties, there is no reason for suggesting
that the Bible teaches that Creation occurred millions of years ago, or
over a period of many millions of years.
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